Announcement of the competition for the position of a scholarship holder
in the project ‘Employer interests as an underrated factor in labour migration – an institutional approach (E factor)’
funded by the National Science Centre (the OPUS 20 call)
in a team led by prof. Marek Okólski
The competition is open to persons who meet the conditions set out in the Act on Higher Education and Science of 20 July 2018 (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 1668) and the Statute of the University of Warsaw.
Institution: Centre of Migration Research, University of Warsaw
Position in the project: Doctoral co-investigator (in the area of economics or political studies or sociology), scientific assistant
Project title: Employer interests as an underrated factor in labour migration – an institutional approach (acronym: E factor)
Number of job offers: 1
Starting date: 1 October 2021
Project description:
Existing research on international labour migration seems to underestimate the impact of employers and their interests. The role of employers is usually reduced to characteristics of the receiving state’s labour market or immigration policy. In reality, employers do pursue their interests related to the international migration of workers. We thus intend to fill a gap in knowledge regarding labour immigration by investigating the – thus far neglected – role of employer’s interest in this process. The objective of this project has two dimensions: empirical and theoretical. The empirical dimension consists of in-depth analysis of the influence of employers’ interests in different political, economic and socio-cultural contexts: in Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom, and in the whole European Union (EU) during negotiations preceding the 2004 enlargement. Poland will be an especially interesting case, since we will have the opportunity to observe the employers’ involvement in channelling migrants as a “process in the making”. It is a traditional emigration country, which has recently (2017–2020) become one of the largest recipients of foreign workers in Europe. The theoretical aim is to provide an innovative conceptual framework based on the New Institutional Economics (NIE) approach and its core concepts, such as interest groups, collective actions, conflicts of interests, institutional embeddedness and moral hazard behaviours. More…
Requirements:
- 1) a student of a full-time second-cycle degree programme or uniform Master’s studies[1] in economics or political science or sociology at a university in Poland or 2) graduates having a master’s degree in economics or political science or sociology, or 3) a doctoral candidate at a doctoral school[2];
- experience in conducting empirical studies and qualitative analysis;
- high proficiency in English (oral and written confirmed by certificates or other documents);
- high proficiency in German or Italian (oral and written confirmed by certificates or other documents);
- interest in labour migration, institutional economics and migration policies;
- ability to organise time;
- willingness to undertake fieldwork abroad (in Germany and/or Italy).
The advantages:
- participation in research projects,
- experience in writing academic papers and participation in scientific conferences;
- research-related achievements, scholarships, awards and research experience gained in Poland or abroad, research workshops and training courses;
- readiness to undertake doctoral studies within the first year of the project (in the case of MA students);
- willingness to change the dissertation topic to one related to the project (in the case of doctoral candidates at doctoral schools).
Task description:
The PhD student will:
- collaborate closely with the Principal Investigator of the project and researchers at all stages of the research project;
- review systematically and critically the literature related to the topic of the research project (during the first six months of the project);
- implement research in selected case studies;
- compile primary and secondary data and analyse them in selected case studies;
- prepare academic articles, presentations and reports based on the conducted research;
- work systematically on his/her doctoral project (supported by the Principal Investigator and other project team members);
- participate actively in the scientific activities of the Centre of Migration Research.
Conditions of employment:
Occupancy rate: 36 hours per week
Contract period: 48 months
Scholarship: max. 60 000 PLN per annum (gross) as scholarship
Additional benefits: the PhD student will be a part of a stimulating environment and will have the opportunity to collaborate with an experienced team. The costs of participation in international conferences will be covered from the project’s resources. The PhD student will receive access to literature and research software and licences.
Required documents:
Applications must be submitted in English or Polish and should include a single Pdf file with the following:
- A CV with a list of achievements (Master’s thesis title and supervisor, participation in research, publications, participation in academic conferences, awards, prizes) and a description of the skills required to carry out the tasks in the project (including the level of English and German or Italian proficiency, scientific software skills);
- a cover letter containing a description of research interests (one page);
- a letter of recommendation from a researcher with at least a PhD degree;
- a sample of writing (e.g. a chapter of the master thesis or an article) in Polish or English;
- a Grade Point Average (GPA) for the entire degree programme (in the case of students in the last year of Master’s studies) indicating the type of average calculated (arithmetic or weighted) and the university’s grading scale;
- a declaration of consent to the processing of personal data (download).
Selection process
Please submit the documents via email to: konkursy.obm@uw.edu.pl with a title S-P-E factor-1.1/2021
Application deadline: 31 July 2021
Recruitment is a two-step process:
1 / Evaluation of the electronic or paper application of the Candidates.
2 / Interviews. Candidates who best match the candidate profile listed above and who have received the highest number of points from the first step will be invited to the interview.
The expected date of the decision: 23/09/2021. Candidates will be informed about the results via email.
Additional information:
Preference will be given to candidates wishing to write a doctoral dissertation on a topic related to the project.
[1] Given the expected graduation date before 1 October 2021.
[2] Within the meaning of the Act on Higher Education and Science of 20 July 2018.